Attention

Friday, July 27, 2012

A U.S. economy that plodded along in the first three
months of the year likely grew even less in the April-June quarter. And
most economists no longer think growth will strengthen much in the
second half of 2012.

Weaker hiring, nervous consumers, sluggish
manufacturing and the overhang of Europe's debt crisis might be pointing
toward everyone's big fear: another recession.
Against that
background, the government on Friday will issue its first of three
estimates of how much the

U.S. economy expanded last quarter. The
consensus forecast is that growth slowed to an annual rate of 1.5
percent, according to a survey of economists by data firm FactSet. The
Commerce Department will issue the estimate at 8:30 a.m. EDT.

U.S. authorities
are considering launching a wide-ranging examination of the retail
industry for violations of an anti-foreign bribery law, after Wal-Mart
and other retailers have come forth with their own potential offenses,
people familiar with the matter said.
Retailers have been reviewing their international operations in light of a bribery scandal at Wal-Mart Stores Inc's (WMT.N)
operations in Mexico that is the subject of investigations by the
Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

With many patients still being cared for after last week's Colorado
movie theater shootings, one burden is being lifted by some of the
hospitals: medical expenses.

Children's Hospital
Colorado said it will use its charity care program and donations to
cover medical expenses for victims of the shooting who do not have
insurance. Victims who do have insurance will have their co-pays and
deductible-related expenses waived.

"We are committed to
supporting these families as they heal," Elizabeth Whitehead,
spokeswoman for Children's Hospital Colorado, said in a statement.

Five people face charges for allegedly terrorizing a Jewish summer camp in Pennsylvania.

In three separate episodes earlier this month, three adults and two
juveniles caused property damage as they sped dangerously through Camp Bonim in Wayne County in a pickup truck, shouting anti-Semitic epithets and firing paintball guns at campers and staff, District Attorney Janine Edwards
said in a press release. The three adults were arrested Wednesday
morning and face felony and misdemeanor charges, including ethnic
intimidation, terroristic threats and assault.

"These children were terrorized and in fear for their lives by the
actions of this group," Edwards said in the release. "The vicious, cruel
and obscene nature of the language hurled at the campers is
unspeakable. Luckily none of the children suffered any serious physical
injury, however, the emotional damage is immeasurable."

Just because a person is viewing online porn at a public library doesn't necessarily mean they want everyone to know that — and plenty of fellow patrons might not want to accidentally catch an eyeful, either. San Francisco's main library is taking all that into consideration with its new privacy screens on its free computers.

The idea is that the 18 new plastic shields will limit what can be seen on the computers' monitors to the person using that particular machine, reports KVTU.com.

A city librarian said the library doesn't want to filter Internet access, so the screens allow for free and equal access to information without offending anyone.

Union heads representing thousands of America's immigration agents
slammed the Obama administration Thursday over a policy they claim is
forcing officials to ignore the law and allowing illegal immigrants to
exploit the system.

In a startling allegation, the president of the union representing
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers claimed illegal immigrants
are "taking advantage" of a new directive allowing some undocumented
residents who came to the U.S. as children to stay in the country. Union
boss Chris Crane said the policy ends up allowing illegal immigrants to
avoid detention without any proof -- particularly so-called "dreamers,"
or those illegal immigrants who would benefit under the "DREAM Act"
proposal, which Congress has not passed but the administration has
partially implemented.

About one in six voters still thinks President Obama is Muslim while
only half identify him as a Christian, according to a new national poll
released Thursday.

Just 49 percent of voters surveyed by the Pew Research Center’s
Forum on Religion and Public Life said the president is Christian,
while 17 percent said he is Muslim and 31 percent did not know his
religion. (Click here to view the poll results)

The
percentage who think Mr. Obama is Muslim has actually increased by 5
percentage points since he was elected in 2008, although it has
decreased 2 percentage points since an August 2010 poll.

Husbands and wives may share checking accounts, but they don’t always
share political preferences. So what happens when one-half of the
marriage wants to donate to a candidate?

A wife writes a $1,000
check to her preferred candidate, President Obama. A week later, her
irritated spouse fires back with a $1,000 check to Republican Mitt Romney.
The money cancels out, leaving the candidates even, television stations
and campaign consultants a little bit richer — and the couple quite a
bit poorer.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel blasted Chick-Fil-A CEO Dan Cathy's
divulgement in a recent interview that he was against same sex marriage.
Emanuel blasted Cathy, saying that his values "aren't Chicago's values"
and agreed with Alderman Joe Moreno's vow to block another Chick-Fil-A
restaurant from opening in Chicago.

Yet the next day, Emanuel welcomed Louis Farrakhan and his Nation of
Islam for assistance battling Chicago's crime. Apparently Farrakhan's
legendary antisemitism is a "Chicago value" -- but what about Farrakhan's own stance against same sex marriage?

The homosexuals and lesbians have gained considerable political and
social momentum in America. They have "come out" as the term goes, left
their closets, and are knocking on the doors of your homes. Through
TV, radio, newspapers, and magazines, they are preaching their doctrine
of tolerance, equality, justice, and love. They do not want to be
perceived as abnormal or dangerous. They want acceptance and they want
you to welcome them with open, loving arms, approving of what they do.

In
numerous states in America several bills have been introduced by the
pro-homosexual politicians to ensure that the practice of homosexuality
is a right protected by law. Included in these bills are statements
affecting employers, renters, and schools. Churches could possibly be
required to hire a quota of homosexuals, and "sensitivity" training
courses would be "strongly urged" in various work places. There is even
legislation that would force the state to pick up the tab for the
defense of homosexual agendas in lawsuits while requiring the
non-homosexual side to pay out of his/her pocket. Is this fair? Of
course not. But fairness isn't the real issue here. It is social
engineering. Think about it, the homosexual community wants legal
protection for having intercourse with people of the same sex. And, if
that weren't enough, it wants its views taught in schools, promoted over
the airwaves, and codified in literature.

The Christian church,
however, has not stood idly by. When it has spoken out against this
political immorality, the cry of "separation of church and state" is
shouted at the so-called "religious bigots." But when the homosexual
community attempts to use political power to try and control the church
and get its agenda taught in schools, no such cry of bigotry is heard
from the sacred halls of the media. Why? Because it isn't politically
correct to side with Christians.

Impressively quick reflexes from the Romney campaign -- hopefully this is only the beginning of a wider attack strategy constructed around "it worked:"

Liberals are again claiming that Obama is being taken "out of context" here. Slate's Dave Weigel
says Obama was obviously referring to the Clinton-era tax rates --
which he mentioned just prior to "it worked." Five points: (1) If you read the full transcript
of the speech, Obama was building a broader case against Mitt Romney's
"top down" approach to governance (full of distortions, of course, but
that's politics). The president described at length the "contrasting
visions" that separate himself from his opponent, listing off
tendentiously-phrased examples along the way. So the "context" of "it
worked" was ambiguous, at best. The Examiner's Joel Gehrke makes this point, as does The Fix's Aaron Blake, albeit reluctantly:

Earlier today, Facebook's very own Mark Zuckerberg and the site's other head honchos held a conference call with investors to discuss the company's first earnings report since it went public back in May. Given the stock's not-stellar performance and investors' concerns about Facebook's ability to actually, ya know... make money, the Zuck did his best to liven up spirits by saying the company is beefing up its mobile ad strategy. Which yes, means ads for Facebook users on their smartphones and tablets. Let the clogging begin.

A few lucky OceanCity ATM users might have gotten something hard to come by these days – more money than they asked for.

Last week, Ocean City Today
was tipped that for a brief period last Thursday evening, the Bank of
America ATM at the Boardwalk’s south-end tram terminal was dispensing
twice the amount of cash that users requested.

According to a witness who wishes to remain anonymous to protect his
cash windfall, he received a text message from a friend around 7 p.m.
that evening, telling him to come to the ATM because it was giving out
extra money.

HANOVER, MD – As part of the O’Malley Administration’s Cycle Maryland Initiative, Governor Martin O’Malley today announces 28 winners of the Bikeways Program Grants. The Maryland Bikeways Program, administered by the Maryland Department of Transportation, was established in November 2011 as a program to support planning, design and construction of projects that create and improve bicycle connections in Maryland to key destinations, like work, school and shopping. Governor O’Malley’s program is providing $3.13 million for this round of grants to seven counties, Baltimore City and 12 other municipalities for a variety of projects in different stages of development from feasibility assessment and design to construction. These grant recipients are the second set of awardees announced this year bringing the total to 48 bikeways grant recipients and $5.63 million for 2012.

“I am pleased to see such a great interest in working together to build a more comprehensive bike network statewide that will benefit our citizens,” said Governor O’Malley. “These grants will help local jurisdictions build key connections that make bicycling a true transportation option. Bicycling is a win-win for all of us by helping us learn to enjoy more of Maryland’s natural treasures, reducing the impact on the land, improving our fitness and well-being, and enhancing our quality of life.”

The grant winning projects include: on and off-road bicycle route connections, bike route signage, bike racks and safety improvements. A complete list of projects is available at this link: http://bit.ly/OsNqzZ .

Some of the winning projects are:

City of Brunswick’s bike route, connecting the Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O) Canal Trail, the MARC train station and Main Street;

Salisbury’s on-road bikeways, connecting Salisbury University and local businesses; andShore Transit on the Eastern Shore, providing bike racks on buses and at key stations.

The Maryland Bikeways Program grant applications are reviewed with the goal of awarding grants to support plans and projects that: maximize the use of Maryland’s existing bicycle facilities, make needed connections and support Maryland’s bike sharing efforts. The Bikeways Program will address key funding gaps for bicycle projects. Program flexibility ensures that the best possible bicycle routes can be developed, by utilizing local and state roads, off-road trails, parks and other available pathways. Through strategic investment in the bicycle network, Maryland and our partners hope both to stimulate the economy and to achieve cost savings for households and government agencies.

Governor O’Malley kicked off his Cycle Maryland Initiative to consolidate and coordinate bicycle programs in Maryland in an effort to make bicycling a true transportation alternative and to encourage more Marylanders to get out and ride. The goal is to support Maryland’s economy, to provide a cleaner environment and to encourage a healthier lifestyle and a better quality of life for all Marylanders.

IRVINE, Calif. — California is still dominating the foreclosure scene.

California cities made up seven of the top 10 metro areas with the
highest rates of new foreclosures in the first six months of this year,
according to data released Thursday by RealtyTrac, which tracks
foreclosure properties. That’s unchanged from the same time last year.

Foreclosure activity also spiked by more than 25 percent in and
around Philadelphia, Chicago and New York. The new inventory could start
hitting the market in the next several months, potentially weighing
further on home values.

I just found out yesterday that the special needs swimming pool at Pinehurst elementary is sitting empty and has for a long time due to funding for a new roof. I am curious whether or not this was ever made public. I don't have a special needs child but I do have some friends that do, and they would tell me that the students for which the pool was intended for, loved nothing more then the time they could spend in that pool. The smiles that the children had by being in the pool would just make things a little easier for the parents, the teachers, and the children. These children have to go through enough in their lives. It is a shame this has been taken away from them.

The talk about all the money the county got for the new Bennet middle school and yet no mention about this. I hear there are 12-14 classes of special needs students just at Pinhurst alone. I'm not positive about those numbers but that is a lot of students and I am sure more were bused in from other schools as well. I was also told the repairs for the roof would be a couple of million dollars. How is that possible? How about for a fraction of that they tear the roof down and make it an outside pool. I bet all the people that are for the funding of a bike lane to be built in Salisbury would rather have this special pool fixed for the children that would never be able to use a bike path in the first place. It seems the county knows how to get grant money for everything from building low income housing to fire boats. How can there be no money for this? If anyone knows more about this topic then fill us in. I might not have all the facts about this and in a way I hope there is more to the story then just needing a new roof.

The Ocean City Police Department will soon be making its annual mass
purchase of ammunition, a requisition that will supply 86,000 rounds for
the department’s firearms and highlight the unique situation of the
OCPD as a largely seasonal police force.

According to OCPD Lt. Richard Moreck, this will be the third year in a
row that the department has made its purchase from The Gun Shop in
Vincentown, N.J.

The Gun Shop is the regional distributor for Federal brand
ammunition, allowing the OCPD to get its order direct from the factory.
The store also holds the ammunition contract for the state of Maryland,
and the state extends its contract pricing to the OCPD to for certain
types of ammunition, a benefit that helps subsidize the training of
Ocean City’s seasonal police force. Ocean City is the only jurisdiction
in the state allowed to raise such a force each summer.

After three decades of railing against the U.S. central banking system, Ron Paul finally had his day Wednesday, when the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved his bill to audit the Federal Reserve with a bipartisan 327-98 vote.

The vote marked a triumphant — albeit largely symbolic — last stand for the Texas Congressman, who will retire from politics at the end of this year.

But while Paul's bill has broad bipartisan support, it's fate remains uncertain, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has said that the Senate will not consider the legislation, virtually guaranteeing that it will never become law.

But Reid hasn't always been opposed to a central bank audit. In fact, the Nevada Senator has himself introduced legislation to audit the Federal Reserve, and co-sponsored several bills to increase transparency at the central bank in the 1990s, according to government transparency watchdog Govtrack.

According to Census figures,
some 200,000 small businesses disappeared from the rolls between 2008
and 2010. Those businesses were responsible for some three million jobs.
The Obama administration claims that they’re moving in the right
direction – but the direction of the economy is now reversing itself.

(Salisbury, MD) The British are coming! As the number of soccer players in the USA nears 20 million, the number one soccer company in the United States, Canada and Australia - Challenger Sports, has been invited to hold one of their nationwide programs of British Soccer training camps right here in the growing soccer community of Salisbury.

The Wicomico County Recreation, Parks & Tourism Department has teamed up to host the week-long British Soccer camp during the week of August 13 – 17 on the Henry S. Parker Athletic Complex soccer fields.

The camp will run Monday through Friday and each child will be coached by a member of challenger’s British coaching staff, flown to the USA exclusively to work on these programs. Challenger will hold over 2,000 British Soccer camps this summer. They will coach over 100,000 players between the ages of 4 and 18 and over 20,000 parents and coaches.

Challengers’ British Soccer Camp is more than a week of drills and skills. In addition to taking part in a daily regimen of foot skill development, technical and tactical practices and daily tournament style plays, each child will also be treated to a rich cultural experience and lessons on respect, responsibility, integrity, leadership and sportsmanship.

Each camper will receive a camp t-shirt, soccer ball, giant soccer poster and an individual skills performance evaluation. To register for camp either visit www.challengersports.com or the Box Office located at the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center.

The Ocean City Police Department will be getting 10 new Tasers this
fall, after OCPD Chief Bernadette DiPino presented City Council with
data showing that the devices have been effective with just their
presence, let alone their actual use.

In February, the OCPD purchased 15 devices and had an additional one
donated to the department by a local business. All 16 equipped officers,
as well as several alternate users, were given 30 hours of training on
the device. The X2 is essentially a ‘double-barreled’ Taser device,
capable of firing two sets of barbs without reloading. The barbs,
trailed by thin wires, stick to the target’s skin so that the officer
can deliver a shock from some distance.

However, according to the data that DiPino submitted to the council,
more results have come from simply displaying the Taser as a means of
warning, rather than have come from actually firing the weapon. Since
February, the department has recorded 19 instances in which officers
have intentionally removed their Tasers from their holsters and
displayed the devices as a means of gaining submission from
uncooperative subjects.

If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you’ve got a business–you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen. The internet didn’t get invented on its own. Government research created the internet so that all the companies could make money off the internet.

Much of the blogosphere has defended Obama’s statement, along one of two lines:

That Obama didn’t mean that business-owners didn’t build their businesses — he was talking about infrastructure creation and the wider economic, legal and political system. That Obama is right — and businesses owners are really not responsible for building their businesses. Both of these arguments are nonsensical.

Economic and business growth is a complex and multi-dimensional thing, driven by the complex relationship between both supply and demand. To claim that those who put the legwork into building a business — whether that is the owners, or workers — “didn’t build” the business is totally false and absurd.

And even if Obama was talking about infrastructure and the wider economic system (which I suspect was the case) it is taxpayers who fund infrastructure creation, and the overwhelming majority of businesses and business owners (other than the bailed-out financial institutions and similar) contribute heavily to tax revenue.

Whichever way we look at it tax-paying business owners past and present — particularly small businesses, who create far more jobs than their larger corporate counter-parts [6] — built not only their businesses, but also contributed to and funded the wider economic system and the institutions of the state.

Obama and his speechwriters ought to look more carefully at the country they desire to be elected to lead. Obama’s comments are hostile to the moral and intellectual foundations on which America has been built — the celebrated ideals of individualism and the self-made man.

Looking for that edge in the job search? For one division in the
Justice Department, you just needed to be related to the right people.

A new report by the department's inspector general alleges that
several career employees inside the Justice Management Division worked
to hire their own friends and relatives into the department, in turn
violating anti-nepotism rules, federal law and other standards.

The improper actions by senior officials of the division, including
alleged violation of the federal nepotism statute, date back to the
previous administration. At least 14 times since May 2008, the division
hired or was pushed to hire personnel at the behest of a family member
working in the division or as a result of family ties, the new report
says.

While it might seem like somewhat stating the obvious, it is nonetheless worth driving home to the politicians and public policy wonks who see rates at record lows and perceive a Keynesian borrow-and-spend-fest as once again the solution to borrowing-and-spending too much. As Morgan Stanley puts it, fiscal policy is sailing between the Scylla of chase-your-tail austerity and the Charybdis of sovereign insolvency. In short, it is impossible for developed market (DM) governments to grow their way back to solvency. Doing nothing would sail governments towards the whirlpool of national insolvency – at some stage. But avoiding insolvency would risk being monstered by recession. If 'expansionary austerity' worked, then Europe would now be booming. The outlook for fiscal policy and public sector finances is a major uncertainty for investors and, critically, is part of the reason why risky assets are being de-rated and 'safe' assets are at unprecedented valuations.

Morgan Stanley:The Strait of Mess

Fiscal policy is sailing between the Scylla of chase-your-tail austerity and the Charybdis of sovereign insolvency. It may be possible – with perfect foresight, untrammeled authority, tolerant markets, accommodating central banks and a disregard for political pressure – to navigate between these two threats. History suggests otherwise. Either way, this adds what is likely to be a long-running element of political and financial risk to the investment outlook. Markets are reacting by increasing the rating on ‘safe’ assets, and de-rating riskier assets, including equities.

Most DM governments are essentially broke. Of course, governments are not businesses, so the usual rules do not apply. But it seems that the net present value of governments’ liabilities – including the commitments embodied in current social security policies – exceed the net present value of their assets (including yet-to-be collected tax receipts). Exhibit 1 shows estimates of the (negative) net worth of some G-10 governments, relative to current-day GDP.

The Justice Department says Capital One has agreed
to pay $12 million to resolve allegations the bank violated special
protections in federal law for members of the military.

The government says Capital One
wrongfully foreclosed on some homes and improperly repossessed some
cars. In addition, the government says the bank obtained wrongful court
judgments against some service members and improperly denied interest
rate relief on some credit card and car loans.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan said sequestration could force him to furlough employees at the Education Department. Speaking Wednesday at a Senate appropriations subcommittee, Duncan did not say exactly how many employees would have to be furloughed. Duncan also said sequestration would hamper the Education Department's ability to detect waste, fraud and abuse. Lawmakers have already spoken with defense officials about the effects of sequestration. But this is the first time Congress spoke with a civilian agency leader

Agencies are hiring more people with disabilities but risk falling short of a goal set by President Barack Obama. This week marks the two-year anniversary of the president's executive order directing agencies to hire about 20,000 more people with disabilities a year over five years. Agencies did better last year than in 2010. About one in six new hires were people with disabilities. Still agencies would have to hire even more workers with disabilities in the next three years to meet the goal. Assistant Secretary of Labor Kathy Martinez said fear is one of the biggest hiring barriers. Managers do not know how a person with disabilities can perform a job even if they're qualified, she said.

Perhaps the saying should be changed from "don't throw the baby out with the bath water" to "Don't forget while attempting to shoplift to also bring your child with when fleeing the store." A mother and her sister are accused of leaving a 1-year-old behind when running from a robbery attempt at Walmart.

The controversy surrounding Chick fil-A and its leadership's stance on same-sex marriage will likely not die down anytime soon, especially now that the Internet has the actual letter sent by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino to the eatery's president Dan Cathy.

When was the last time you read a Bible at a hotel? And when is the last time you read or were tempted to read Fifty Shades of Grey? The widespread and overwhelming popularity of the steamy trilogy has led a hotel owner in England's Lake District to replace all of the bibles in his 40 guest rooms with a copy of E.L. James' book, in order to appeal to that second group of people who would pick it over the traditional copy of the Gideons Bible.

Despite proof that a person's credit history isn't an accurate predictor of their job performance, companies still do it. This is unfortunate for candidates whose recent payment history isn't so great because they--I don't know--need a better job, or don't have one to begin with. The good news for job hunters is that the number of employers performing these checks is falling.

Join the Maryland Young Republicans at a Viewing Party as we watch Governor Mitt Romney accept our party's nomination to become the next President of the United States.

This Viewing Party is being held on Thursday, August 30th at the Comfort Inn, 4500 Crain Highway in Bowie. The event starts at 8 PM with a live broadcast of Red Maryland Radio, with the acceptance speech tentatively scheduled to begin at 10 PM.

The suggested donation for this event is $5 per person! Feel free to contribute in advance by clicking here to donate to the Maryland Young Republicans!

My proposal is to encourage local Nurseries, Florist Shops and Landscaping Companies to take over the flower beds on the Downtown Plaza and let them maintain them.

Each day the IRS has a security truck that comes through the Plaza as well as UPS, FedEx, USPS and many other food and beverage deliveries. That comes to an immediate halt at least two times a week so Public Works can shut down the Plaza and maintain the plants.

This would eliminate ANY further expense to the taxpayers including plants and maintenance. The Plaza is shut down anywhere from 2 to 4 hours each day Public Works does this.

In addition, I'd like to reverse the traffic on the Plaza. While I'm even open to closing it to foot traffic only, I'd at least like to see the traffic heading east bound instead of west and let me explain why.

WHY someone thought of heading the traffic west is truly beyond me. Number one, Camden Street runs in the same direction, it makes no sense. Second and more importantly, WHY do you want people racing OUT of Downtown instead of slowly inviting them INTO Downtown.

Right now when you head into the Plaza and get to the top of the hill, people see the traffic light turn green and guess what happens, they start racing down the hill and run right through the stop sign to get through the green light. They never even notice what business is on the Plaza and they rarely ever pay attention to the speed limit.

By reversing the traffic I believe people will go much slower. (I'd like to add two speed bumps along the way as well). If they're heading east bound they will have a traffic light at the end, unlike the west end. It will be much safer for pedestrians.

Here's one more thing I'd like to see and let's see through comments how YOU feel about this idea. IF you had traffic going east bound, I'd like to see the entire north side of the Plaza cleared and replace the planting beds with diagonal parking from one end to the other. I'm sure there would be a good 50 parking spaces, (give or take a few) added to the Plaza and it would greatly enhance traffic to those businesses on the Plaza. NO METERS! We could put a 2 hour parking limit on those spaces so employees won't take advantage of those spots.

A 13-year-old mowed lawns to save up enough money to buy a hot dog cart. He got licensed. Then he tried to sell hot dogs. The city shut him down.

Why?

Two reasons. First, the good old boys who run local restaurants two decades ago got independent food vendors zoned out. Second, the teachers union got businesses banned for anyone under 18.

He had paid $2,500 for the cart. He sold it for $1,250.

He has just had the finest civics lesson that any public high school kid has received in twenty years in Holland, Michigan. He has seen civil government at work. He has seen how special-interest groups get politicians to feather all their nests.

I hope you'll wish him a happy birthday by signing the card we're putting together for him.

You'll be adding Joe, from Maryland, alongside thousands of other supporters' names -- folks from all 50 states, from all different backgrounds. Together, all those names will be impressive -- they'll show the strength of this campaign and our support for Barack.

And I know he's going to love it.

Add your name today -- and then ask a friend to join you:

These last few months until Election Day won't be easy -- so let's show Barack we have his back every step of the way.

- Michelle

P.S., He didn't wish ME a Happy Birthday NOR did my Wife send YOU an e-mail begging you to do so.

That's why this morning, I called for a special session of the Maryland General Assembly to address the gaming issue.

By moving forward on expanded gaming, we have an opportunity to create thousands of new construction jobs and as many as 2,000 permanent jobs. What's more, by acting now, we have an opportunity to secure an additional $100 million in new revenue for Maryland's #1 in the nation public schools.

This issue has always been a very divisive one for our General Assembly. That's why I want us to resolve it now.

The compromise we're putting forward will create predictability in the marketplace, protect local and city aid being generated at current sites, ensure authorized facilities are able to be built and allow the people of Prince George's County to decide at the ballot whether they want a sixth site for the benefit of their county and revenue base.

Progress is a choice. Job creation is a choice. Maximizing the return on Maryland gaming for the benefit of Maryland families -- this, too, is a choice.

Authorities in Prince George's and Anne Arundel counties have foiled what they believe would have been a mass shooting in the style of the one that killed 12 people in a Denver-area movie theater, police sources tell ABC 7 News.

Law enforcement sources tell ABC 7's Brad Bell that the suspect, who has yet to be identified, was arrested in Crofton on Thursday night. According to officials, the man was facing termination from his job in Prince George's County.

Authorities say they found an "arsenal" of weapons in his home at the time of his arrest and that he had made threats directed toward his employer.

VOORHEES, N.J. (CBS) — A Voorhees police officer was charged Monday with misusing his police powers for personal reasons, according to officials in Camden County.

Forty-four-year-old Jeffrey M. Tyther is accused of using the State Police NCIC motor vehicle database on September 9, 2011 to get personal information about a female driver he passed in Voorhees.

Authorities say while on duty in a marked police cruiser, Tyther saw the woman pass him in traffic, pulled up next to her and waved at her. Neither one of them stopped their vehicles nor did they speak to one another. However, authorities say days later, Tyther used the woman’s personal information retrieved from the database to find her and “friend” her on Facebook.

WHAT: Environment Maryland will hold a press conference to release a new report documenting the increase in the frequency of extreme rainstorms and snowstorms over the past 65 years in Maryland. Recent extreme rainstorms and snowstorms are highlighted as part of a larger trend of more powerful storms occurring more often—a trend that scientists have linked to global warming. Advocates will use this latest data as further evidence for the compelling need for state and federal leaders to reduce global warming pollution.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Barbara A. Mikulski (both D-Md.) today announced that the City of Salisbury’s Fire Department was awarded grants through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program to hire 12 firefighters. Salisbury has been awarded $1,038,912 in federal funds. As a member of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, Senator Mikulski fights each year to increase federal funding for the fire grants program. Senator Cardin is a member of the Finance and Budget committees.

“Now more than ever, we need to make sure that we have the first responders in place that are needed to protect our families and communities,” Senator Cardin said. “From fires to natural disasters to possible terrorist threats, communities cannot shoulder this burden alone. It is important that we provide the federal investment that is needed so communities can hire the first responders that are needed to protect us from harm.”

“I know how important this funding is to Maryland communities – often it’s the difference between life and death. First responders protect our homes and communities, and the federal government has a responsibility to protect them by providing them with the tools they need to do their jobs safer and smarter,” Senator Mikulski said. “Every day when our first responders report for duty, they don’t know what they will face. That’s why I fight every year for the staffing, equipment and training our protectors and communities deserve.”

The Salisbury Fire Department will use the grant funds to hire 12 firefighters necessary to protect residents and maintain a full staff. Due to the economic downturn, this has not been possible in two out of the three Salisbury stations in four years. For more information, please contact Chief Richard Hoppes at the Salisbury Fire Department at (410) 548-3120.

The goal of any SAFER grant is to enhance the ability of grantees to attain and maintain 24-hour staffing. The objective of the program is to award grants directly to volunteer, combination, and career fire departments to help the departments increase the number of frontline firefighters, and to rehire firefighters who were laid off due to the economy.

Since 2001, Maryland fire departments and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) units have received more than $107 million in fire grant funding, more than $10.1 million of which has gone to fire departments and EMS units in Montgomery County.

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The following post is by Ed Bugos, TDV Senior Analyst... this occurred last week, on the same day that TDV Correspondent and new TDV employee, Justin O'Connell was incarcerated in Las Vegas. Is it because we are vigilantes that we continue to be cloistered and caged? We don't think so. We believe it is solely because we have an inability to cowtow and submit to "authority"... unless you do that, you will be kidnapped and questioned... as Ed was last week. Here is more...

“What kind of business are you going down to the US for, sir?” asked the customs officer.

I was coming from Vancouver, BC, Canada, and it was supposed to be just another trip. I was going to visit a mine site in Redding (owned by a private company), and a prospective mining property in Grass Valley (both in California) in some of the oldest mining districts at the request of potential investors who wanted me to vet the assets.

I wasn’t being paid for the excursion. The trip’s expenses were straight out of my pocket. Maybe it would lead to some business, maybe it wouldn’t. Chances are, it wouldn’t. That’s the risk in this business.

As we headed to the airport Sunday morning, my wife didn’t understand why I was so tense. We even argued about it a little. I told her I was worried that I’d miss my 6am flight because the TSA might detain me.

Not because I write for TDV, or because I have been a general critic of the fascist state since before Greenspan’s tech bubble. But because they detained me the last two out of three times I went to the US on business. At the airport, I even hesitated before checking off the box on my customs declaration that denoted I was visiting the US for business related reasons.

But, I thought, better tell the truth. Besides, what were the odds they would detain me again just to answer the same questions they asked last time? Boy, was I wrong.

Pet stores have long been under fire for selling dogs from puppy mills. After years of protestors, petitions, boycotts, and angry animal rights activists, some are starting to make serious changes. The latest trend is for retailers to shift from stocking their shelves with mistreated puppy mill pups to filling their shops with adoptable dogs from high kill animal shelters instead. Many of these transformations are being done through the help of animal advocate organizations such as Pet Connection Inc. and Best Friends.

Best Friends, a Utah-based animal sanctuary has single handedly helped almost 40 pet shops in the US to convert to adopt only stores through its Puppy Mill Initiatives program. In their stand against puppy mills and irresponsible breeding, the Best Friends Puppy Mill Initiatives program holds peaceful demonstrations in front of pet stores that sell puppy mill dogs. Representatives from the campaign strive to educate consumers about inhumane treatment of dogs in puppy mills and encourage people to adopt versus purchase pups from pet stores. Best Friends launched their first Puppy Mills Initiative program in Los Angeles in 2008 and have since expanded their efforts across the country.

Pets of Bel Air, an upscale boutique pet store in Bel Air, California, was once considered the pet store to the stars, outfitting the likes of Paris Hilton with pricey teacup Chihuahuas, before being forced to close down from allegations of selling pets from 28 separate puppy mills. With the help of Best Friend, the store is now occupied by Fresh Paws of Bel Air, which is run by Ilene Katz and Linda Massaro. The stores new owners have taken a stand against puppy mill dogs and have dedicated their retail space towards their humane business model that involves finding homes for deserving shelter dogs. The boutique adopts out dogs for a fee of $495 to $650 and gives half the cost back to the shelter or the rescue organization from which the dogs came from.

WHY: Motor vehicle crashes remain the leading cause of unintentional injury-related death among children ages 14 and under. Each year, more than 1,700 children die and an additional 265,000 are injured as occupants of motor vehicles. Among children who were killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2000, 56% were completely unrestrained.

The conservative advocacy group Change Maryland charged Monday that “Maryland has lost more jobs so far this year than any other state in the nation according to the U.S. Department of Labor,” losing “just over 10,000 jobs since the beginning of this year.” Gov. Martin O’Malley’s press office questioned the figures, and said the organization was cherry-picking numbers to fit in with its partisan Republican agenda. Both sides in the dispute were using figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but they chose a different starting point. Using the end of December as a starting point, Maryland had only lost 1,200 jobs this year.

As Chicago became the latest city to tell Chick-fil-A it isn't
welcome because its president doesn't support gay marriage, legal
experts said the communities don't have a drumstick to stand on.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel became the second big-city mayor to blast
the company over president Dan Cathy's comment last week that he is
“guilty as charged” for supporting the traditional definition of
marriage. Emanuel spoke up after Alderman Proco Joe Moreno announced he
intends to block the chain from opening its second Chicago location over
his stance.

But barring the popular fast-food restaurant over the personal views
of Cathy is an “open and shut” discrimination case, legal scholars told
FoxNews.com.

The Maryland Democratic Party is challenging one of the Republican Party’s biggest successes in years. It filed a lawsuit yesterday seeking to overturn the GOP’s successful drive to put the Democrats’ congressional redistricting map on the November ballot. The suit says the online petition process developed by MDPetitions.com violates state law.